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Hi everyone -- I've read through the posts on this forum extensively for quite some time and apologize if this question is overly basic or oft-asked, but I get confused by the complexity of some of the other posts. Nevertheless, I could really use some help! A friend has asked me to assist him in finishing his basement. He mentioned wiring about 4 audio zones into the area (it's a very large basement), with no desire for multi-zone video. He has a new Bose receiver (i'm not a big fan) that can do 2-zone, so that's obviously not the solution. What i'm wondering is what is the minimum and "intermediate" solutions I can recommend to him to achieve what he's asking for? He would like to have simple wall control in each room to turn the speakers on or off as well as a master wall control in a high-traffic area for all zones. He didn't want to spend much money on the setup. I'm confused as to what his options are if he simply wants to have a single audio source with multiple zones, as opposed to multi-source, etc..

It may also be worth mentioning that he is running cat5 connections between rooms in the house, including the basement. not sure if that matters... i haven't wired any of the speakers yet until I can get a better feel for the setup and equipment requirements.

So after doing more research, I've come across the A-BUS system which seems to be the most basic one offered to do multi-zone audio. However, while it will work fine for room-by-room control, how can I have the option to have a master/multi-room control located away from the main hub?

Is there anywhere that I can see a list of the current "hot" technologies for this type of setup and their pros/cons? I'd especially like to know what the downside is to an A-BUS system, and as far as I can tell, the overall power of the audio isn't great. Do I have the option to run Cat5 and 16/4 to each switch as well as to the room speakers to enhance the sound performance?